PARENTS of children who have undergone lifesaving heart operations met in York to show their support for threatened cardiac services in our region.

Heart doctors and surgeons addressed the meeting at The Marriott Hotel on Saturday to say it was now up to the public to persuade NHS decision-makers not to move children’s heart surgery services from Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) to Newcastle.

Kevin Watterson, a heart surgeon at LGI, said transferring seriously-ill children from York and East Yorkshire, to Newcastle, rather than Leeds, would lead to dangerously long journey times.

“I am concerned about the east coast,” he said. “They come far enough to Leeds already and we have unfortunately lost babies because they didn’t get there in time. Now these cases will have to come to Leeds then do a right turn and go up to Newcastle.”

Fellow speaker, cardiologist Dr Mike Blackburn, said: “We have made all the arguments until we are blue in the face to the people who make these recommendations but they just aren’t listening.

“Write to your MP, ask Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, if we are doing the right thing because he doesn’t have to sign these recommendations off.”

Also in the audience was the Conservative MP for York Outer, Julian Sturdy, one of a number of cross-party MPs opposed to the shake-up of services.

“The travel times and implications for York parents could be huge, not only for seeing their children overnight but travelling in emergency cases,” he said.

Jacqui Scott, mother of Cameron Scott, who underwent open heart surgery at the age of four, said the team at LGI had saved her son’s life twice and she urged everyone to sign the petition against the move, before a decision is taken in about three months.

You can sign the petition by visiting www.chsf.org.uk

A second meeting of the Save Our Surgery campaign, aimed at teenagers, will take place on Saturday, May 14, at 10.30am in The Royal York Hotel.